After studying at the Philosophical Faculty of the Cologne University, he moved to Prague to attend FAMU, the renowned film and TV academy. There he directed a short called Astropolitan, which premiered at the International Belgrade Film Festival and earned Mani success early in his career. While working as a translator for Emir Kusturica's Underground, he agreed to shoot a documentary on Kusturica called Shooting Days, which has won critical acclaim and has been distributed in many countries.

SynopsesIn the Balkan town of Shutka, the Romani (Gypsy) population is thriving and everyone is considered a champion at something, be it boxing or grave robbing. Aleksander Manic's The Shutka Book of Records gives us a walking tour of this vibrant community, and along the way, we meet some of the colorful ""champions."", champion vampire hunter and champion love maker ""When a child is born in Roma, it cries in melody."" Adults are liable to do the same after meeting all the strange and endearing characters in